52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 47 Prompt - Discovery

2024

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 47

Prompt - Discovery

Andreas and Maria Krikau

My maternal great-grandmother is Maria Katherine Kraft. She was born August 27, 1879 in Warenburg, Russia. She married Andreas Krikau on June 15, 1898 in Warenburg, Russia. They and their family immigrated to Canada in the fall of 1911. They came through New York and then by passenger train to Saskatchewan and joined Andreas Krikau's cousin in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. By 1913 Andreas and his family moved on to Winnipeg, Manitoba and by 1924 they immigrated to The United States.

When I first started this genealogy I went through my mother's photo album and came across this newspaper obituary.

I ignored it at first sighting. This person died in Nebraska. As far as I knew my great-grandmother had lived most of her life in Chicago. I did not know who this was and did not think that it was my great-grandmother. This assumption is not hard to believe because so many ancestors inherit the same name as their mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin etc. I thought that it was perhaps a distant cousin of my great-grandmother. As I was soon to figure out, my great-grandmother had married a second time. It was to someone called Philipp Hartwig and he lived in Scotsbluff, Nebraska.

Maria's first spouse, Andreas Krikau died December 29, 1946 in Riverdale, Illinois. Riverdale is a suburb of Chicago. Andreas and Maria were both 67 years old and married approximately 48 years.

I next decided to start looking into Maria Krikau's second marriage. I was intrigued that she married someone from Nebraska. How did she know this person? I did not know when she married him. Why did she die in Nebraska but was buried in the same cemetery as her first husband in Illinois?

My great-grandmother's obituary stated that her husband, Phillip Hartwig outlived her. I started to research Philipp Hartwig. I came across his obituary. 

 

 

Mary Katherine (Trippel) and Phillip Hartwig

I started to put together some pieces of my puzzle. He was born in “Verndurg” Russia on October 6 1876. I did not recognize the city name from Russia. He was born around the same time of my great-grandmother. Eventually and through other sources I found out that he was born in Warenburg. The obituary stated he married his “first wife” , Mary Katherine Tripple in Russia in 1899. They immigrated to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1901 and eventually settled in Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1911. The name of Tripple sounded familiar to me. In the 1913 failed U.S. Border crossing of Andreas and Maria and family had listed the closest living relative was a sister of Andreas named Barbara Trippel. Andreas did have a sibling named Elisabeth Barbara. I had no further information on her other than she existed. Possibly she could have married a Tripple.

Going on from the Philipp Hartwig's obituary I found out that his first wife, Mary Katherine died September 20, 1950. 

 

I tried to do more research on Mary Katherine Hartwig (Tripple) but soon found out that my great-grandmother's name was so similar, Marie Katherine Hartwig (Kraft). Let me say I spent days collecting and sorting and re-sorting out sources where I had mixed them up between the two. It was a nightmare.

Philipp Hartwig married my great-grandmother sometime in 1951 and she died July 25, 1953 Her second husband outlived her. 

Marie Krikau (Kraft) and Phillip Hartwig. Circa Jul 1953.

 It is my belief that my great-grandmother, Maria Krikau (Kraft) remarried to Philipp Hartwig because of family connections. Maria's sister-in-law was Barbara Tripple (Andreas' sister) and when Mary Hartwig / Tripple died a connection was forged between Maria Krikau (Kraft) and Philipp Hartwig. They were about the same age and were born in the same village in Russia. Hartwig / Tripple married 1899 where Krikau / Kraft married in 1898, both in the same village. Maybe the two married couples knew each other from “the old world”. Also their spouses both died within a few years of each other.

My great-grandmother died in Scottsbluff but was buried close to her first husband in Illinois just as Phillip Hartwig was buried next to his first wife, Mary Katherine Hartwig (Tripple) in Nebraska. I guess that makes sense.

Facts that run amok.

My great-grandmother's name is Maria Katherine Kraft. She often went by Mary. The first wife was known as Marie Katherine Trippel, but often went by Katie. Note also the maiden name is found both as Tripple and Trippel.

Mr. Hartwig is known most by the name Philip Hartwig. But on several family trees he is listed as Johann Phillip Hartwig. His gravestone lists his name as Philipp Hartwig. Note the one “L” and two “P”s.

The city of Scottsbluff, Nebraska is often written as Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. 

In the obituary of Maria Krikau / Hartwig it states that she is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Mary McLaughlin and Mrs Elisa Tanis.  These are in fact her daughters. 

So many details that can lead one away from true sources of their family tree. 

I hope this is not too confusing. I am still working on these families to see if any other discoveries come forward to show more of their story. 

Wendy